Reading Mark Mendiola's Article, A Powerless America? (2001)

The thirteen issue of LCG's recruitment magazine, Tomorrow's World (July-August 2001), featured an article by Mark Mendiola of Pocatello, Idaho entitled "A Powerless America?" (pp. 20-24.) This was the eleventh of several articles Mendiola would write for this recruitment magazine. Here Mendiola cites energy management issues as evidence that the United States will soon collapse.

Simultaneous energy and water shortages jeopardize the faltering U.S. economy’s chances for a strong recovery. Bible prophecy indicates that conditions may grow much worse before they improve.

Mendiola discusses strain upon the energy supply in west coast states of the USA. He cites President Bush and Vice-President Cheney. He also cites a future Governor of Washington.

“You can today see blackouts coming, as big as life, and an energy crisis going into the fall,” said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.

In the entire article there is no discussion about climate change.

He ends this article claiming that these energy supply problems are signs of an impending catastrophe about to hit the United States.

Is it merely coincidence that the U.S. is confronting major crises on several fronts that threaten to cause major hardships and suffering? Most experts are reluctant to cite it as a source, but the Holy Bible plainly shows a cause and-effect reason for what can accurately be described as curses plaguing the nation. Our actions— the choices we make—determine whether we are blessed or cursed. The Living Creator God who inspired the Bible warns of adverse consequences if we disobey commandments, but blessings if we are obedient to His spiritual laws. ...

God then describes curses that would result—including terrorism, disease outbreaks, farm disasters and defeat by enemies. He also describes a drought that symbolically turns the heavens and earth dry and hard. ...

U.S. energy, water and economic crises are worsening as snowpack, spring runoff and reservoir levels dwindle due to drought conditions gripping major regions of the nation. Those setbacks further weaken the nation’s power and prestige. ... Breaking God’s commandments brings national as well as individual curses on us. T he choice is ours.

LCG and the other Armstrongite groups teach that white Americans are descendants of the ancient Kingdom of Israel described in the Bible which was conquered by the Assyrians around 720 BCE. This idea is called British Israelism. This idea is used within the Armstrongite groups to insist that the frightful fate of military conquest and exile that the ancient Israelites and Jews endured will occur to the United States in the near future. The Armstrongites have been teaching this since the 1930s. But the idea called British Israelism happens to be false. Non-Jewish Americans of European descent are not descended from the ancient Israelites.

 

In this article Mendiola cites Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 11 as evidence that the United States will soon endure terrible things but those passages were describing warnings to the ancient Israelites and Jews. These warnings were alluding to the conquest of those kingdoms by the Assyrians and the Babylonians and the subsequent exiles they were forced to endure. Those Biblical passages were not talking about 21st Century America. Those Biblical passages were cited out of context. There is no need to fear the dire predictions of the Armstrongites.

In September 2006 Mendiola left LCG and joined Dave Pack's Restored Church of God. Around 2008 he left RCG and joined Don Billingsley's Church of God-Faithful Flock. He was credited as helping to produce COG-FF's magazine, The Philadelphia Remnant, as late as 2012.

Russia Launches Armed Campaign Against Ukraine

That which many feared has begun to occur. Russia has chosen to fight Ukraine. This is a terrible, awful moment the world is now witnessing. The potential death, destruction and humanitarian crisis this will cause is dreadful.

With such terrible news some within the Armstrongite organizations or their former members may start to fear that this is somehow the beginning of the dire predictions Herbert Armstrong and his imitators have taught. This is no such thing. Herbert Armstrong was a false prophet who made many false predictions thus proving that he is a false prophet. There is no need to fear his dire predictions. 

And since Herbert Armstrong was a false prophet then anyone seeking to produce prophecies and predictions based on what Herbert Armstrong said are also false prophets. There is no need to fear their dire predictions either.

PCG Creates an Archaeology Institute

PCG has announced the establishment of their archaeology institute, the Armstrong-Mazar Institute of Biblical Archaeology. (Brad Macdonald, Trumpet Followers, Meet AMIBA, January 20, 2021.) This move was largely expected after PCG's leader, Gerald Flurry, printed a co-worker letter promoting the idea back on November 1, 2021.

Macdonald says that the PCG leadership hopes to excavate again.

AMIBA will also continue to sponsor and participate in archaeological excavations in Jerusalem. Even now we are working with Hebrew University and the various authorities and organizations in Israel to plan a new excavation. We hope to announce this new dig over the next few months.

Macdonald states:

The ultimate mission of this institute is to showcase and share Israel’s biblical archaeology with the largest audience possible, especially the people of Israel.

Let us note. PCG, an Armstrongite organization predominantly based in America, is going to all this trouble and expense to promote archaeology to Israelis. Why not let Israelis promote archaeology among themselves?

There can be no misunderstanding. PCG is doing this for themselves. This move promotes PCG. Presumably the PCG leadership hope this will give them an opportunity to gain respect and trust from Israeli society.

And there might be another reason the PCG leadership are devoting so much time and money to reaching out to Israeli Jews.

The State of Israel has plenty of problems. The best thing PCG could do to the nation is to leave. Leave them alone. The vast majority of Jews, in Israel and elsewhere, are not interested in joining the Christian churches or Armstrongites organizations like PCG. Also they do not need PCG to learn about archaeology.

May PCG's efforts in the Holy Land fail.

Vaccination Against Covid-19 is Necessary

The recent rise of Covid Omicron shows again the necessity of getting vaccinated against Covid-19. Millions have been vaccinated. I myself got vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine as soon as I could. I encourage everyone to be vaccinated against Covid-19 subject to medical advice. If anyone is concerned let them consult with their doctors.

Unfortunately some within the Armstrongite groups have chosen to scare monger about the Covid vaccines leaving their followers more vulnerable to getting infected with the dreaded disease. Sadly many people all over the world who were vaccine hesitant have suffered or even died when they could have avoided getting the dreadful disease by getting vaccinated.

All of us need to be responsible during this ongoing crisis.

Happy new year everyone. May the year 2022 be a happy and prosperous time for you.

PCG Using Vicious Rhetoric Against Barack Obama

PCG has long vilified Barack Obama. In 2013 Gerald Flurry called him "another Antiochus," comparing him to Antiochus Epiphanes and Joseph Tkach, Jr. PCG continued this theme on November 2, 2021 when PCG posted an article by Stephen Flurry in which he wrote the following about Barack Obama.

On October 23, Obama was campaigning in Virginia for Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Criticizing the opposing nominee and conservatives in general, he said, “We don’t have time to be wasting on these phony, trumped-up culture wars, this fake outrage that right-wing media pedals to juice their ratings—and the fact that he’s willing to go along with it? Instead of talking about serious problems that actually affect serious people? That’s a shame. That’s not what this election is about.”

And then Stephen Flurry discusses a tragic case of sexual abuse currently going through the justice system which has been used by the political right to attack transgender friendly policies. Unfortunately PCG has a long history of condemning transgender people.

While recounting this case Stephen Flurry names the victim's father. Many media reports about this case refrained from naming him to protect the victim's identity. And yet Stephen Flurry and the PCG leadership chose otherwise. Consequently I will refrain from linking to the article. 

Stephen Flurry then says:

Barack Obama, leader of radicals who have elevated grievance and complaining to a bizarre art form, says that if you are upset about this, your outrage is “phony.” He is not a normal person. He is a heartless monster.

Stephen Flurry is alluding to a statement by  Fox News' Tucker Carlson. He stated the following at the start of the article.

Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson recently condemned him as a “heartless monster.” Carlson is more right than he realizes.

Vicious, bitter rhetoric such as this reveals more about the PCG leadership than anything they were trying to say in this article.

Herman Hoeh's Tale of the Cannibal King

Herman Hoeh asserted in his presently discredited Compendium of World History that one ancient ruler of Egypt was a cannibal, namely Unis, who is also referred to as Unas, the last king of Dynasty V.

With Unis the dynasty comes to a catastrophic end. (He was a contemporary of the Pharaoh who perished at the Red Sea.) The king died the night of the Passover. Unis was a firstborn' He was also a cannibal! After Moses left Egypt, he commenced the frightful practice of eating the firstborn of his enemies. That is one of the reasons God slew the firstborn of Egypt. From the pyramid-tomb of Unis one may read this horrible account of his life, his blasphemous claims, and his deeds.

"Behold, Unas hath arrived at the height of heaven .... Ra is on one side and Horus is on the other, and Unas is between them .... Unas hath weighed his word with the hidden god who hath no name, on the day of hacking in pieces the firstborn .... Unas devoureth men .... He ... cutteth off hairy scalps ... the cordmaster hath bound them for slaughter. Khonsu the slayer of ... hath cut their throats and drawn out their inward parts, for it was he whom Unas sent to drive them in: and Shesem hath cut them in pieces and boiled their members in his blazing cauldrons. Unas hath eaten their words of power, and he hath swallowed their spirits; the great ones among them serve for his meal at daybreak, the lesser serve for his meal at eventide, and the least among them serve for his meal at night. The old gods and the old goddesses become fuel for his furnace. The mighty ones in heaven shoot out fire under the cauldrons which are heaped up with the haunches of the firstborn; and he that maketh those who live in heaven to revolve around Unas hath shot into the cauldrons the haunches of their women of the gods in visible form. UNAS IS THE FIRSTBORN OF THE FIRSTBORN existence is ... and the offerings made unto him are more than those made unto the gods ..." (from E. A. Wallis Budge's "A History of Egypt", vol. II, pages 83-88.) Compare King Unis and his blasphemous claims with II Thessalonians 2:3-4. A remarkable analogy. (Herman Hoeh, Compendium of World History, Volume 1, Chapter 3.)

Hoeh was wrong. This hymn for Unas, which is called the Cannibal Hymn, was an allegory.

... the hymn is best understood as a mythologization of butchery ritual. The sacrifice of a bull was a key element in many Egyptian religious ceremonies. In the Cannibal Hymn, it is the gods who are butchered, cooked and eaten by the king, so that he may absorb and deploy their powers to assist him in his resurrection and apotheosis after death. (Toby Wilkinson, introduction to Text 3.1, Writings from Ancient Egypt, 2016.)

How good it is to be free from misunderstanding and error. 

PCG Blaming Obama for the Taliban Takeover: Overview of the October 2021 Issue of PCG's Philadelphia Trumpet

(Warning: This recruitment magazine discussed in this post is produced by an organization that has chosen to take an anti-vaxxer stance against Covid-19 vaccines. Such a stance encourages people to leave themselves vulnerable to getting that dreadful disease. The easiest way to reduce the risk of getting that dreadful disease is to get vaccinated. Many are encouraging people to get vaccinated subject to medical advice.)

Disclaimer: Page 10 features a disturbing photo of a child injured during a protest in Afghanistan.

In early September 2021 the PCG leadership released the October 2021 issue of their recruitment magazine, The Philadelphia Trumpet. In this issue the PCG leadership exploit the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan to vilify President Biden ignoring the fact that it was President Trump who made a peace agreement with the Taliban behind the back of the Afghan government. That agreement was what made the tragic Taliban takeover possible.

The editors of this issue are Gerald Flurry, Stephen Flurry, Joel Hilliker, Philip Nice, Brad Macdonald, Richard Palmer, Jeremiah Jacques and Dennis Leap.

This issue had a circulation of 240,656 issues. The September issue had a circulation of 240,596 issues, a difference of only 60 issues. The August issue had a circulation of 239,545 issues. For the July issue it was 241,917 issues. For the May-June issue it was 243,028. For the April issue it was 247,023. For the March issue it was 248,523. The circulation for PCG's recruitment magazine appears to be slightly declining.

Gerald Flurry has an article insisting that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is part of a plot to destroy America. He blames Barack Obama and Satan. Back in 2013 Gerald Flurry labeled President Obama as "another Antiochus" comparing him to Antiochus Epiphanes and Joseph Tkach, Jr. Consequently Flurry often brings up Obama in order to "prove" his earlier condemnation of President Obama.

In the article Flurry refers to the Taliban as "barbarians" and "thugs." 

In the article Flurry accuses the Taliban of letting the suicide bomber into Kabul airport even though so many Afghan citizens were killed as well.

He also claims that Obama somehow planned for President Biden to get blamed. Flurry is so determined to stir up anger and hostility against Obama even though he has not held public office since January 20, 2017.

I believe Barack Obama intended Biden to take the flak for what has happened here. (p. 31.) 

Joel Hilliker has an article seeking to explain why America was unable to prevent the Taliban's return to power. It is insisted that the fall of Afghanistan is a sign of (PCG's) God's punishing the United States for being unrighteous, that is behaving contrary to PCG's dogmas. This is magical thinking that serves to devalue attempts to understand and explain how the fall of Afghanistan happened. Because of this the fall of Afghanistan is presented as something that just happened. The Taliban takeover is many things but it is not an accident. There are many reasons why this happened, not the least of which being corruption within the Afghan government.

Brent Nagtegaal has an article scare mongering that the Taliban takeover will somehow work to the benefit of Iran. It is insisted that Iran has been working with the Taliban since at least 2015. Since the early 1990s Gerald Flurry has taught that Iran will be the future King of the South consequently PCG's vilification of Iran serves to "prove" to their followers that Gerald Flurry can see the future.

This article features the following paragraph which focuses on the headlines used to describe the rise of the Taliban instead of discussing what is written in these articles. Links have been added in for convenience.

Yet when Kabul fell to the Taliban, prevailing media opinion was that Iran feared what would come next. “Taliban Surge Will Force Iran to Forge a New Defense Strategy,” reported Haaretz on August 13. “Iran Braces for Life Next Door to the Taliban Once Again,” Bloomberg headlined on August 19. Germany’s Deutsche Welle wrote, “Afghanistan: Taliban Offensive Puts Iran in a Bind.” These three headlines represent the broad consensus that while Iran might be happy America is gone from Afghanistan, it is terrified of the Taliban. (p. 8.) 

Since the Taliban's rise to power there have been reports that the Taliban have been persecuting people belonging to the Hazara ethnic group. Most Hazaras are Shia Muslims like the majority of Iran's population. Such reports will do nothing to foster friendly relations between the Taliban and Iran.

Richard Palmer has an article saying that Europe is adversely affected by the Taliban takeover. At one point on page 11 Palmer quotes the right wing British columnist Melanie Phillips who is often reverently quoted by PCG's writers. For decades the Armstrongites have insisted that predominantly Catholic Europe will soon militarily conquer the United States. This dire prediction has never occurred.

The article features this passage scare mongering about immigration. One moment he says the fall of Afghanistan is a terrible thing. Next moment he says be afraid if the resultant refugees move to your nation. 

Even before the Taliban took over, 30,000 people fled Afghanistan each week. ... an aid worker in Afghanistan, warned, “We can assume that up to 3 million Afghans will make their way to Europe in the foreseeable future.”

Less than half that number of refugees from around the world—1.3 million—arrived in Europe in 2015. The resulting political crisis shook the foundations of governments across the Continent and sparked an outbreak of political extremism not seen since the 1930s. Can European politics as we know it survive the arrival of 3 million Afghans? What if, as has occurred repeatedly in Europe, that mass of refugees harbors even a few terrorists? (p. 12.)

Governmental authorities are empowered to manage these issues but PCG's recruitment magazine irresponsibly foster fear and panic over people fleeing the Taliban, even slurring them as potential terrorists. 

Richard Palmer also has an article speculating that the Taliban takeover will strain relations between the United States and the United Kingdom. It is insisted that Britain is so alienated with America's withdrawal that they are aligning themselves more closely with Germany and France.

In this article Palmer includes a quote which accurately notes that the agreement to withdraw American military forces from Afghanistan was made by President Trump as part of an agreement with the Taliban.

“The American decision to withdraw was not just a mistake—it was an avoidable mistake, from President [Donald] Trump’s flawed deal with the Taliban to President [Joe] Biden’s decision to proceed, and to proceed in such a disastrous way,” said Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats. (p. 14.)

Under the Trump Administration's plan this withdrawal was supposed to be completed by May 2021. However this information is presented as merely a quote. Palmer does not state that it happens to be true that it was Trump who made an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan. 

Jeremiah Jacques has an article insisting that Russia and China are happy that the Taliban have conquered Afghanistan.

The Infographic discusses the cost to the United States of waging war in Afghanistan. It is stated that the Taliban gained the equivalent of 116% of the military spending of India, the third largest military spender. This obscures the fact that the United States is by far the largest military spender in the world.

Josué Michels has an article scare mongering that Europeans' attempts to manage the spread of Covid-19 are paving the way for some sort of authoritarian rule instead of viewing them as being sincere attempts to contain and minimize the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic. At one point he even refers to the current Covid-19 crisis as "the so-called coronavirus pandemic."

The global trend toward authoritarian governments has greatly accelerated during the so-called coronavirus pandemic. (p. 20.)

While condemning lockdowns Michels cites figures from California and Florida dating back to March 2021 before the more contagious Covid Delta variant began to predominate among American cases of Covid-19.

Comparing restrictive California with open Florida is telling. As of this past March, in Florida, 8,979 people per 100,000 were infected; in California, that number was 9,079. The death rate in Florida was 146 per 100,000; in California, 135. Clearly, lockdowns are not the cure-all they were purported to be. (p. 20.)

Michels cites a difference in death rates of 11 per 100,000 but all those people in California just got saved from dying of that dreadful disease. 

Josué Michels also has a side article scare mongering that the US dollar is on the way out. PCG so often uses this thought to scare their readers.

Gerald Flurry has an article saying that empires are great and wonderful. The inaccurate dogma of British Israelism blinds the Armstrongites from understanding why European Empires has now largely collapsed. It is hard to run an empire once the colonized realizes they are as worthy of respect and self rule as the colonizers. Why bother studying such things as decolonization when one believes such events are merely caused by the will of the God of Armstrongism?

WorldWatch discusses wildfires in Europe; France passing a law regulating religious groups; Italy introducing a green pass as a proof of vaccination; Iran getting a new Foreign Minister, namely Hossein Amir-Abdollahian; the announcement of the construction of a new terminal for an oil pipeline in Iran; Cuba shutting down the Internet in response to protests, which this recruitment magazine also blames on China; President Putin claiming that Ukraine is not independent; China making more nuclear missile silos; the cyberattack against Kaseya; and the passage of a $1.2 billion bill by the US Senate. 

SocietyWatch discusses how some companies have benefitted from the lockdowns; the Biden Administration's condemnation of anti-vaxxer misinformation on social media which is portrayed in PCG's recruitment magazine as an attempt to control social media websites; and an alarmist claim that the Biden Administration has somehow spent the American people's savings. The PCG leadership gives themselves so much time vilifying the political party they oppose.

Joel Hilliker has an article saying that being humble is the way to achieve greatness. 

The Discussion Board has letters. Four letters are persons stating that they used to enjoy listening to Herbert Armstrong and reading his recruitment magazine. This ignores the many problems concerning Herbert Armstrong and his organization. Much of what Herbert Armstrong was cobbled together from various sources like the Jehovah's Witnesses and British Israelism to create his own syncretistic system of belief. 

Joel Hilliker also has an article insisting that (PCG's) God will provide a way of protection from the future catastrophe PCG and the other COGs insist will soon occur. The Armstrongites have been insisting that some sort of catastrophe will soon occur since the 1930s. Such a catastrophe has never occurred. And even when this current pandemic is causing so much pain and suffering some within the Armstrongite organizations have chosen to minimize this crisis under the pretext that this is not the crisis they have been scare mongering about since the 1930s. PCG's leaders have made numerous false prophecies since the organization's founding in 1989. PCG's leader are but false prophets. There is no need to fear their predictions of the future.

Christians Do Not Need to Observe the Armstrongite Feast of Tabernacles

On September 21, 2021 PCG released episode 1603 of their radio show, The Trumpet Daily. This episode was hosted by Andrew Locher. It featured a segment justifying the observance of the Armstrongite Feast of Tabernacles.

Why We Keep the Feast of Tabernacles

Why is the Trumpet Daily staff away from their regular schedule and keeping the Feast of Tabernacles? This holy day is essential to see world news in its proper perspective.

In the segment Locher the description of the feasts in the Old Testament. He says they were to be observed forever. These people they are the true Christians and yet they choose to follow something else. If Christians were supposed to observe festivals such as the Feast of Tabernacles why is it the vast majority of them have never done done so?

He then mentions that Paul stated in Acts that he needed to observe the fast and so he went to Jerusalem. Of course Paul observed such a thing. He was a Jew. But he did not expect the Gentile converts to Christianity to observe this.

If observing the Feast of Tabernacles was so important to the Christians of the New Testament era why is it that in the letter sent by the Council of Jerusalem, described in Acts 15, there is no admonition to the Gentile converts to observe Jewish festivals such as the Feast of Tabernacles? Also Paul's Letter to the Galatians was evidently an admonition against Judaizers, that is early Christians who were telling early Gentile Christians that they needed to be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses to be a Christian. 

Some within the COGs may think that this controversy over circumcision in the New Testament era was only about that ritual and has no wider implication for their practice of their religion. To say that one did not need to be circumcised meant that one did not need to convert to Judaism to be a Christian. In those days Christianity originally arose among Jews and only later Gentiles began to join. So the question had to be asked: Did Gentiles converting to Christianity need to become Jews as well to be a Christian? By the time the New Testament was written the question had been settled: Gentiles wishing to convert to Christianity did not need to become Jews as well to become a Christian. 

Seeing that there is no need to convert to Judaism to be a Christian therefore there is no need to observe Jewish festivals such as the Feast of Tabernacles to be a Christian. 

(In time a consensus arose among both Jews and Christians that they were separate religions and they went on their separate ways. However that separation was not as well defined back in the New Testament era unlike the situation today. We need to respect other religions.)

Armstrongites insist that they are following the Bible and yet they ignore the implications of what is written in Galatians and Acts 15. Christians are under no obligation to observe Jewish festivals, such as the Feast of Tabernacles, to be a Christian. Herbert Armstrong was wrong on this matter.

Furthermore the Armstrongites insist on observing the Feast of Tabernacles in a manner utterly contrary to how it is described in the Old Testament and how it is observed among Jewish communities today. In the Old Testament it is festival observed at one's home. One way of observing it is by building a sukkah outside one's home. A sukkah is referred to as a tabernacle in the King James Version. It is a festival that brought much joy and happiness to the Jewish community throughout the ages.

The Armstrongites insist that the Feast of Tabernacles must be observed then they observe it in a wrong manner. Instead they gather themselves together in an eight day yearly convention. This practice is burdensome for many who work. It is also a burden for school children who have their school attendance disrupted for eight days. If they had observed it in their homes as the Bible says they would not need to endure such burdens. This is a terrible wrong that Herbert Armstrong has inflicted on his followers.

In our current Covid-19 era Herbert Armstrong's practice of holding an eight day yearly convention has the added burden of placing everyone in a potential super spreader event. In the ongoing crisis caused by Covid-19 it is necessary that we try to minimize risk wherever possible.

Horrifically Herbert Armstrong often denounced medical science. This bad example he set makes the Armstrongites vulnerable to being swayed by misinformation that could make them more likely to get infected with Covid-19. The easiest way to protect oneself from Covid-19 is to get vaccinated. If one is concerned they should consult with their personal doctor. 

I wish the Armstrongite organizations would have set a good example for society and not gather together while this pandemic remains a severe threat to people's lives, health and safety. They could have held it online. Alternative arrangements could have been made but some have chosen not to do so.

Again there is no need to observe Jewish festivals such as the Feast of Tabernacles to be a Christian. Herbert Armstrong was wrong on this matter. Everyone relying on his example is also wrong on this matter.

Please keep safe during this Covid-19 pandemic.

The Horror of Vaccine Hesitancy with Covid-19 Vaccines

At present much of the world including the United States is in the midst of an epidemic of Covid-19. With the rise of Covid Delta the disease has become more contagious and more likely to cause hospitalization and death than earlier strains of Covid. Nevertheless many people are refusing to get vaccinated or are hesitant to get vaccinated. There has been a wave of misinformation causing many people to be unnecessarily reluctant to get vaccinated. Members of the COGs are particularly vulnerable to such misinformation since for decades Herbert Armstrong denounced medical science and made his followers fearful of seeking medical care. 

This year the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day will be held from the evening of September 20 until sunset on September 28. In contrast to the Jewish practice of celebrating these festivals at home Herbert Armstrong taught his followers to gather together in an eight day yearly convention. I cannot help but fear that during this year's Feast of Tabernacles Covid Delta will spread throughout the COGs.

Sadly some COG members fear getting vaccinated or listen to people who dangerously minimize the danger of Covid-19. Meanwhile that dreadful disease continues to inflict pain and suffering wherever it spreads. Recently Markos Moulitsas has been posting a series of blog posts detailing people who refuse or are reluctant to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Covid-19 is a dreadful and dangerous disease. Pretending it is not a major problem cannot protect anyone from Covid-19. It is tragic that some people have been mislead on this important issue.  

• The (tragic) timeline of an anti-vaxxer's COVID death

• Another senseless death by [Conspiracist] stupidity

• 'Let us die ... and y'all can defund the police'

• Basic parenting instincts are short-circuited, leaving 3 kids motherless

• A redemption story

• The blood of Christ versus COVID-19

• 'I refuse to believe anything different'

• Death by meme

• The grim reality of a slow COVID death

• That one family member who refused the vaccine

• In a battle between 'woke' and conservative America, who remains alive?

• The Cowboy Code wasn't a bad idea

• Should've listened to his friend Kyle

• A terrifying blow-by-blow recap of a COVID illness

• [Person] doesn't do vaccines, nor her family. What happens when COVID visits?

• Unvaccinated, unafraid, unbelievable

Vilifying "Science" as a "False Messiah": Overview of the September 2021 Issue of PCG's Trumpet

(Please note: PCG has recently chosen to promote an anti-vaxxer stance in regards to vaccines against that dreadful disease, Covid-19. The truth must be stated. This anti-vaxxer stance leaves people dreadfully vulnerable to getting infected with Covid Delta. This terrible strain, Covid Delta, is more contagious and more likely to cause hospitalization than earlier versions of Covid-19. The easiest way for people to protect themselves against Covid-19, including Covid Delta, is to get vaccinated. If any is worried about getting vaccinated then they should consult such concerns with their personal doctors, instead of reading some rant on the Internet from anti-vaxxers. Many people and organizations such as Voices for Vaccines are trying to counteract vaccine hesitancy. We need to listen to medical science to minimize the harm caused by this dreadful disease.)

In early August 2021 PCG released the September 2021 issue of their recruitment magazine, The Philadelphia Trumpet. This issue was published before the fall of Afghanistan.

Shamefully the cover incites contempt and fear towards attempts to contain the ongoing epidemic of Covid-19. Science is simply analyzing what happens in reality. The only way to bring Covid-19 under control is to vaccinate against it but nevertheless the PCG leadership produces a cover which negatively portrays a medical needle. Also "science falsely so-called" is a reference to I Timothy 6:20 and in proper context actually refers to a rival religion, namely Gnosticism, not what we now refer to as science. That is why most modern English translations here say knowledge, not science. 

The editors for this issue are Gerald Flurry, Stephen Flurry, Joel Hilliker, Philip Nice, Brad Macdonald, Richard Palmer, Jeremiah Jacques and Dennis Leap.

This issue has a circulation of 240,596 issues. The August issue had a circulation of 239,545 issues. For the July issue it was 241,917 issues. For the May-June issue it was 243,028. For the April issue it was 247,023. For the March issue it was 248,523. For the February issue it was 246,497. The circulation for PCG's recruitment magazine appears stable at present.

Gerald Flurry has an article exploiting the discovery of a bulla from the time of King Jeroboam II to promote his bizarre lionization of the former Republican President, Donald Trump. 

Stephen Flurry has an article condemning lockdowns and related restrictions designed to slow down the spread of that dreadful disease, Covid-19.

Richard Palmer has an side article bemoaning the National Health Service as inefficient and as a cause for the dissolving of the British Empire. 

Josué Michels has an article saying that Germany is on the verge of going through a major transformation into a militaristic power soon fated to conquer the United States.

Richard Palmer has an article scare mongering that the Roman Catholic Church will soon change and lead a future European Empire to conquer America.

Abraham Blondeau and Mihailo S. Zelić have an article discussing protests over the recent discovery of the buried remains of hundreds of First Tribes children in schools as part of a frightful policy of assimilating them to be like people of European descent.

Harley Breth has an article discussing the planned launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Infographic discusses the satellite.

Gerald Flurry has an article insisting that PCG members will become God beings as fully God as God is God though of a lower rank after the second coming.

Brent Nagtegaal and Brad Macdonald have an article praising Donald Trump and comparing him to King Jeroboam II of Israel. According to the authors all was good and right while Donald Trump was President and all is bad and dreadful now that President Biden is in office. All problems and contentious matters concerning the Trump Administration is ignored. This article is a retreat from reality into fantasy. It is a shameless whitewashing of recent history.

WorldWatch discusses the Nord Stream 2 pipeline made to supply oil from Russia to Germany being almost ready; the Papacy preparing to canonize former French Prime Minister Robert Schuman, a politician instrumental with the founding of the European Economic Community; a mass murder in Wurzburg on June 25, 2021 in which three women were murdered; the establishment of a new government in the State of Israel which is denounced because it pushed Netanyahu out of power; US military strikes against Shia militias which are portrayed in this magazine as being too weak; Russia and China extending a cooperation treaty on June 28, 2021; Russia testing hypersonic missiles; and also claims that China is making weapons designed to destroy satellites in the event of war breaking out. 

Furthermore WorldWatch discusses heat waves in North America. The PCG leadership astoundingly denies that these heat waves are caused by climate change produced by human activity. They casually insist that climate change has been disproven even though the vast majority of scientists are warning the world that this major crisis is real and will negatively affect just about everyone.

What is the cause of these worsening weather conditions? Scientists point to man-made climate change. But many scientists have been exposed for manipulating data on historical temperature records that disprove this theory. (p. 30.)

Climate change is the major crisis facing human society. It is shameful that the PCG leadership are telling their followers that it is not real. 

SocietyWatch discusses deaths by drug overdose in the United States; fifteen Republican led states blocking the enforcement of federal gun laws; and a Scientific American article that denounces a literal belief in Adam and Eve as being motivated by racism against African-Americans.

Mark Jenkins has an article condemning popular culture as bad compared with classical Western culture. His bitter diatribe will do little except incite parents and older people into despising and being bitter against youth culture. His readers would have been better served if they were encouraged to understand that each generation defines itself with particular music and stories unique to themselves. If a youth are told to reject popular culture then it will be harder for them to socially connect with their peers. Shame on this recruitment magazine for sowing discord between the generations.

The Discussion Board has letters. Here's a letter from Mississippi from a person who recites PCG's stance that President Biden merely represents Barack Obama.

I have been reading your fine for 10-plus years, and I appreciate how you have explained how big business drive trends and the economy, but I never realized how much influence they had on the political front until I read [a PCG article by Richard Palmer]. ... With Biden in power (Obama, actually) things will only get worse. 

Here's a letter from a person who calls PCG's recruitment magazine as the only source of information this person trusts.

My father has been following you since the early 1980s. When the Worldwide Church of God fell apart, he was so confused and wondered what was going on. In the early-to-mid-90s, he randomly stumbled across Gerald Flurry on a Key of David program. He just so happened to mention Herbert W. Armstrong. He was instantly intrigued--mind-blown, I can imagine--and I'm pretty sure he knew he had found the truth again. That is one thing that has helped me build my faith, as well as many other world events almost rolling daily in our lives. Keep reporting real news. It is my only source; I do not trust any other reporter.

Joel Hilliker has an article telling his readers to take their "warning" seriously. Their "warning" message is that America is about to be militarily conquered by a future European Empire very soon. But this "warning" has not happened in decades. In fact PCG have made numerous predictions that failed miserably. These failed predictions prove that there is no need to fear their predictions. They are merely false prophets. We do not need to fear their predictions.